By now, you've probably heard us drone on and on about the lack of good wings in this great restaurant city. How are there so many chefs here, yet nobody get this it right? Wings might not be glamorous, but they're as important to the fabric of East Coast living as pizza, bagels and the New York Yankees. Well, it was only a matter of time before someone gave the wing a proper shake. And since our local talent slept on it for so long, the door was left wide open for Portland's Pok Pok to show everybody how it's done.

If you watch a lot of food TV, you might recognize Pok Pok from Best Thing I Ever Ate, or Unique Eats. Anne Burell even got in on the action for Diners Drive-in's and Dives. Well, they're as good as advertised. Pok Pok has descended on NYC, setting up a tiny eat-in and take-out situation in the old Baohaus space on the LES. Quick Eats in NYC has never been quite this good.

Unfortunately, this doesn't fully solve NYC's wing problem. What someone really needs to do is open up a good buffalo wing spot with this business model. Until then, we will be hitting these wings frequently, and we're excited about the upcoming full-scale restaurant, which will supposedly open in Red Hook soon. Thank you Pok Pok. It's about time someone took the chicken wing seriously in this town.

Food Rundown:

Ike's WingsYou can tell just by looking at these wings that there's a lot of love in them. From our seat, we watched the chef take his time and finness these to all their glistening glory. And the flavor is incredible. These wings are marinated in fish sauce, garlic and sugar, then deep fried and tossed in Thai fish sauce and more garlic. Order them spicy with the extra chili paste.

Papaya Pok PokThis is the restaurant's namesake dish, and we have never had anything quite like it. This papaya salad is incredibly spicy, yet equally sweet in the same bite.

Khao Man Som TamShredded, crispy pork infused with fried shallots atop a bed of sticky rice and a small Papaya Pok Pok. We loved this dish and suggest you order it.